Assessing conceptual knowledge in three online engineering courses: theory of computation and compiler construction, operating systems, and signal and systems

In the current decade understanding conceptual knowledge should be an important area of engineering science. However, it is not as widespread in this field as it is in the areas of education and psychology. Learning conceptual knowledge in engineering science could help instructors to adapt their lectures in order to overcome student misconceptions, to reinforce the learning process, and to check whether students are able to identify key features of a problem. Different methods are provided by authors to assess conceptual knowledge. One is to design and develop a concept inventory with the objective of identifying possible student misconceptions through multiple-choice questions. Another method consists of asking each student to answer a question by submitting a written explanation. This study provides two procedures for the assessment of conceptual knowledge based on the latter method. The first procedure is applied to online computer science students enrolled on an Operating Systems course. The second procedure is applied to online communication students enrolled on a Signals and Systems course. Both procedures are focused not only on assessing but also on searching for causes of potential student misconceptions. These procedures could help other instructors to assess conceptual knowledge on other engineering courses.Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, UDIMA2018-1

Asymmetry in student achievement on multiple choice and constructed response items in reversible mathematics processes

In this paper we report the results of an experiment designed to test the hypothesis that when faced with a question involving the inverse direction of a reversible mathematical process, students solve a multiple-choice version by verifying the answers presented to them by the direct method, not by undertaking the actual inverse calculation. Participants responded to an online test contain- ing equivalent multiple-choice and constructed-response items in two reversible algebraic techniques: factor/expand and solve/verify. The ndings supported this hypothesis: Overall scores were higher in the multiple-choice condition compared to the constructed-response condition, but this advantage was significantly greater for items concerning the inverse direction of reversible processes compared to those involving direct processes

Meanings given to algebraic symbolism in problem posing

Some errors in the learning of algebra suggest students have difficulties giving meaning to algebraic symbolism. In this paper, we use problem posing in order to analyze the students’ capacity to assign meaning to algebraic symbolism and the difficulties that students encounter in this process depending on the characteristics of the algebraic statements given. We designed a written questionnaire composed of eight closed algebraic statements expressed symbolically, which was administered to 55 students who had finished their compulsory education and that had some previous experience in problem posing. In our analysis of the data, we examine both syntactic and semantic structures of the problem posed. We note that in most cases students posed problems with syntactic structures different to those given. They did not include computations within variables, and changed the kinds of relationships connecting variables. Students easily posed problems for statements with additive structures. Other differences in the type of problems posed depend on the characteristics of the given statements

Teaching the science of learning

The science of learning has made a considerable contribution to our understanding of effective teaching and learning strategies. However, few instructors outside of the field are privy to this research. In this Tutorial Review, we focus on six specific cognitive strategies that have received robust support from decades of research: spaced practice, interleaving, retrieval practice, elaboration, concrete examples, and dual coding. We describe the basic research behind each strategy and relevant applied research, present examples of existing and suggested implementation, and make recommendations for further research that would broaden the reach of these strategies